Joint fok kailboad-tracks



mr srnrns .an Frio.

E. U. BENEDIGT, OF HORIGON, WISCONSIN.

JOINT FOR RAILROAD-TRACKS.

Specication of Letters Patent No. 21,406, dated September 7', 1858.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, E. U. BENEDICT, of Horicon, in the county of Dodgeand State of llisconsin, have invented a new and Improved Joint forRailroad-Tracks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description ot the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making a part of this specication, in which-Figure 1 is a side view of my improved joint. F ig. 2 is a transversesection of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondingparts in bothfigures.

The object of this invention Vis to prevent the depression of the railsat the junction of the bars, and the consequent bat-tering andlamination of the ends of the bars by the passing of trains over them.

The invention consists in a joint plate constructed, applied, andsecured to the ends of the bars in a novel manner to eect the aboveobject.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will proceed todescribe its construction and operation.

A, A, are portions of two railroad bars of the inverted T-form commonlyemployed. The ends of these bars are cut square to fit together intheusual manner or may be cut to fit together in any other suit-ablemanner. The line CZ, in Fig. l, represents the joint.

B is the joint plate, made of a piece of heavy boiler plate or wroughtplate iron about eighteen (18) inches long or more or less, and aboutnine (9) or ten (10) inches in width, bent centrally and laterally bysuitable machinery to the form shown in the sectional View (Fig. 2),viz. to the form of a letter T, with its head turned up at each marginto form lips a, a, with asuitable space between them to receive the baseof the rail, and the portions forming the upright part or stein of the Tbeing brought close together to form a solid and deep longitudinal tinof four (4:) or tive inches deep; the said lips being of a depth aboutequal to the depth of the sides of the base of the rail.

D, D, are two wrought iron plates of the same or nearly the samethickness as the plate B, of the same length, and of a width to coverthe lips a, a, of the joint plate, and the sides of the base of therail.

C, C, are inverted stirrup-bolts, screwed at their ends, and of a lengthto fit under the upright tin of the joint plate and to pass throughholes provided for them in each side of the base b, of the rail andcorresponding holes in the plates D, D, and fitted with nuts c,` c,above said plates D, D. These nuts when screwed up bring the plates D,D, down close upon the base of the rail and conne the base of the railupon the fiat upper :tace of the joint plate and make a very firm andsolid joint between the two bars A, A; the upright fin of the jointplate aiording suiiicient `stiffness to prevent any deflection of saidplate and rendering it impossible for the ends of the bars A, A, to bedepressed or elevated by the passage of a train over the joint and hencerendering the ends of the bars no more liable to be battered out orlaminated than any other portion of the rail and making a continuouslevel track upon which the train will run smoothly and Without violentand destructive concussions upon the wheels and axles.

The sleepers are intended to be placed as close as possible to the endsot' the joint plate B, but are unnecessary under the joint d, or jointplate. i

The holes through which the bolts pass in the base of the rail, may be.somewhat elongated lengthwise of the rail, to compensate for expansionand contraction of the bars A, A, by changes of temperature.

I do not claim, broadly, the placing of a vertical pin or projectionupon the bottom of railroad chairs; but,

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination of the ends of the rail l

